Activists, Opposition Prepare for Clinton Visit [-Hillary will meet opposition party officials and rights activists]
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| Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walks to her limousine after a speech on America's engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, on Thursday. (Photo: AP) |
Phnom Penh Friday, 29 October 2010
“I want to ask her whether she has a strategy for Cambodia...to turn into a real democratic nation.”
Members of the opposition and civil society expect to raise a number of questions on Cambodia's current states of democracy and human rights next week during a brief visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton will arrive in Cambodia Saturday and stay through Monday, with talks expected with senior government officials, as well as opposition lawmakers and rights activists.
Her visit, the first since Colin Powell attended an Asean regional forum here in 2003, follows an official visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, during which Prime Minister Hun Sen said he wanted UN's local rights representative sacked and a land demonstrator was severely beaten by police.
A US Embassy statement said Clinton's visit was “intended to send a strong message of continued US engagement with Cambodia.”
